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      King: Vick shouldn’t go on Oprah

      May 18, 2009 /

      While appearing on Dan Patrick’s radio show, SI.com’s Peter King squashed Rich Eisen’s idea that Michael Vick should go on Oprah and make a public appearance (as opposed to crawling into a hole and avoiding the public eye) once he’s out of prison.

      “I don’t think Oprah Winfrey helps him at all,” King said. “He needs to say something personally to both Arthur Blank and Roger Goodell.”

      King said that Vick needs to earn his honor back quietly and behind the scenes. He shouldn’t go on TV and deliver a mea culpa that may or may not be sincere.

      King said the circus around Vick on a new team will be intense for two weeks, but then maybe settle down.

      King said a team that’s use to attention like the Cowboys and Redskins has to take him. King said he thought the Bucs would go after him, but now they have “65 quarterbacks.”

      “I’d love to have this guy on my team,” King said of Vick.

      King brings up a good point in that Vick should make personal apologizes to those he lied to and not try to fix everything by making one big public appearance on a show like Oprah. As King noted, there’s a chance Vick could come off looking unapologetic and insincere during the interview and that would only hurt his public image even more. (If that’s even possible, that is.)

      I’m a little surprised that King would say that he would “love” to have Vick on his team, although he might be trying to convey that Vick has done his time and deserves a second chance.

      NFL

      Cuban/Martin feud heating up

      May 18, 2009 /

      Mark Cuban hoped to put his feud with Kenyon Martin (and Martin’s mom) behind him when he apologized on his blog for referring to Martin as a thug after Game 3 in Dallas. But Martin doesn’t think Cuban’s apology is good enough.

      “He’s a coward,” Martin said about Cuban, according to HoopsHype.com. “He couldn’t face it. You all read the only apology that he’s made [on his blog].

      “The world got to see it before the person who it was meant for got to see it. That tells you how that goes. I ain’t never known nobody apology to somebody through other people.”

      For his part, Cuban called his blog apology a mistake, telling the Web site in an e-mail that he regretted not having contacted Martin’s mother in person and in a timely fashion.

      “I still intend to apologize to Ms. Moore,” Cuban wrote of Lydia Moore, Martin’s mother. “I made a mistake and will keep my commitment.”

      “I would also like to know if Kenyon is going to take responsibility for his actions rather than hiding behind ‘no comment,’ ” Cuban wrote. “Will he apologize to the wife of our staff member that he called a [expletive] fat pig’ immediately after Game 3? Will he apologize to fans that he threatened to, and I’m paraphrasing here, ‘[expletive] beat the [expletive] down’ during Game 4?

      “Or to the fans he walked by after Game 4, [Martin] cursed and gave the finger to? Will he take responsibility for what he said and did? Is there some reason he has not?”

      This isn’t a huge deal, but it probably isn’t going away until the two speak to each other. They both like to talk to the press, so reporters will keep asking them about the status of the feud, which is only going to add fuel to the fire.

      NBA, Rumors & Gossip

      Defense, long ball key Magic win

      May 18, 2009 /

      If you didn’t watch Game 7 of the Boston/Orlando series last night, you might look at the score (101-82) and assume that the Magic controlled the whole game. Not so. Orlando held a five-point lead heading into the fourth quarter, but an 8-0 run by the Magic at the start of the period pushed the lead to 13, and they went on to a 35-point quarter and a series victory.

      In the first six games of the series, Orlando’s recipe for a win was pretty simple — defense. In their wins (Game 1, Game 3 and Game 6), the Magic held the Celtics to less than 44% shooting from the field. In their losses (Game 2, Game 4 and Game 5), the Celtics shot better than 44%. In Game 6, the Magic held the C’s to just 39% shooting.

      The other major factor was the the Magic’s accuracy from long range. Early in the series, Orlando had the touch from three-point land, shooting a combined 26 of 64 (41%) in the first three games. In Game 4, Game 5 and Game 6, the Magic shot just 17 of 77 (22%) from deep. In Game 7, the Magic hit a stellar 13 of 21 (62%) of their threes, and it’s tough to beat a team when they are that hot from long range.

      What was the difference? Boston’s perimeter defense is pretty good, but Orlando did an outstanding job of moving the ball crisply and cleanly, and the C’s just couldn’t chase down all of the Magic’s shooters.

      Hedo Turkoglu was the star of the game, posting 25 points, 12 assists and five rebounds, while hitting 4 of 5 from long range. Four other Orlando players — Rashard Lewis (19), Mickael Pietrus (17), Rafer Alston (15) and Dwight Howard (12) — scored in double figures to provide a balanced offensive attack.

      With the loss, the Celtics go home for the summer. They face another offseason where they may lose one or more of their key contributors. Last year, it was James Posey (signed with the Hornets) and P.J. Brown (retirement) who left, while this summer both Glen Davis and Leon Powe are free agents. Boston’s payroll is quite high ($73.7 million), so whether or not these players come back depends on how far over the luxury tax the Celtics’ ownership is willing to go. The luxury tax for next season probably won’t change from its level this year ($71.1 million), so any contract that Davis or Powe signs with the C’s will have to be matched dollar-for-dollar in luxury tax. For example, if they sign Davis to a four-year deal worth $16 million, that contract is going to cost the C’s an additional $4 million per season as long as they are over the luxury tax threshold.

      NBA, NBA Finals, News

      Gruden to replace Kornheiser in MNF booth

      May 18, 2009 /

      For Monday Night Football telecasts, it’s out with TV personality Tony Kornheiser and in with former head coach Jon Gruden.

      Former Super Bowl-Winning Coach to Team with Tirico and Jaworski in MNF Booth
      Gruden replaces Tony Kornheiser, who has decided to step down after three years in the Monday Night Football booth.

      Kornheiser added: “I am totally grateful for the MNF opportunity that I truly enjoyed the last three seasons. I feel we got better each year. My fear of planes is legendary and sadly true. When I looked at the upcoming schedule it was the perfect storm that would’ve frequently moved me from the bus to the air. I kept looking at the schedule the past month and wanted to find a way to quietly extricate myself. If I could handpick a replacement of a football guy, I would cast a net and drag in Jon Gruden. He is the two things you most want — smart and funny — and has the two things I don’t — good hair and a tan. I love PTI and am looking forward to continuing to yammer and yodel with Wilbon until the end of time.”

      Gruden was an analyst for the NFL Network during the draft and he did a nice job. He didn’t blow me away with his commentary, but he was solid nonetheless.

      The brains behind MNF need to get it together. I realize they’re trying to appeal to a broader audience and that’s why they’ve tried comedians and other personalities like Kornheiser and Dennis Miller, but just freaking stick a football guy between Tirico and Jaws and call it a day.

      Football fans want to hear the broadcasters discuss the game – not some irrelevant stat or story that is force-fed to Kornheiser by the producers. It seemed that most of Kornheiser’s jokes were written for him and they wound up being a distraction at times. He played his role perfectly (i.e. someone that tried to bring up different topics during the game), but again, I’d rather have a football guy like Gruden in the booth who obviously has knowledge of the game.

      The question is, how long before Gruden returns to the sidelines? I’m assuming he’ll only be unemployed for a year and that means MNF will have to find another replacement again.

      NFL

      David Wells: ‘Players that cheat should be banned after first offense’

      May 18, 2009 /

      Former MLB pitcher David Wells tossed a few high hard ones at Alex Rodriguez and Roger Clemens this past weekend, saying that any player that cheats the game should be banned from baseball after the first offense.

      Wells said the home runs that Rodriguez hit during the time he admitted he was on steroids shouldn’t count, including the three he jacked against Wells in 2003. He also questioned Roger Clemens’ veracity on his constant denials that he never juiced, and said all steroids cheats should be banned from baseball after the first offense and have no shot at getting into the Hall of Fame.

      “I think that would be great. No 50-game suspension. Ban them right away,” Wells said. “That would stop it in a heartbeat, especially with the money they are giving out today. It would be incredible if they did that. You wouldn’t have to worry about steroids or HGH.”

      Why do players abuse steroids? So they can post incredible numbers, assault records, extend their careers, sign big contracts.

      “It (stinks) because of the fact that these guys are playing dirty and that’s not fair to the guys who busted their butt all those years to try and stay here and just didn’t have what it took,” Wells said.

      If baseball truly wanted to stop player’s use of performance-enhancing drugs, they would take on Wells’ philosophy. No player in their right mind would risk taking steroids if they knew a positive test would result in a lifetime ban from the game. (Well, maybe I shouldn’t suggest that no player would risk using, because I’m sure some nitwit would do it anyway thinking he’d never be caught.)

      One thing to note is that MLB wouldn’t be able to make this rule retroactive because if they didn’t think it was important to have a testing policy in place 10 years ago, then they shouldn’t be able to ban a player who admitted using during that time. So guys like A-Rod and Andy Pettitte would be given a free pass for now.

      But a lifetime ban would put the responsibility back into the players’ hands – where everything starts anyway. If a player isn’t sure that a supplement or medication will get him banned, he needs to check with a team doctor and have it authorized. That way everyone knows what’s going into these players’ bodies and therefore there wouldn’t be any surprises. And this wouldn’t just help keep the game clean, but it would also show that MLB cares about the players’ long-term health, too. It seems to be a win-win for all parties involved.

      MLB

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